Procedural law creates, defines and regulates the rights and duties of individuals. In simple words, this describes what to do and how to do, whenever a case is brought before a court and these rules or laws ensure that justice is administered equitably throughout court system. There are two types of procedural law i.e. Criminal Procedure and Civil Procedure.

Criminal Procedure concerns the methods of prosecuting and defending criminal offences. Criminal trials used by government to protect and provide relief to the people by attempting to sentence or punish the accused.

“Civil Procedure” is the body of laws which concern the prescribed methods of resolving disputes through litigation. Civil trials can be used by anyone to enforce, redress or protect their legal rights through court orders and monetary awards. These procedures apply in the cases that do not fall under criminal Law domain and includes various kinds of Appeals like Property dispute cases, contract matters, Partition cases, Environment related cases, Rent control matters, educational institution cases, Service related cases, labour cases, intellectual property right related cases, debt recovery cases, Mines and Mining rights cases, wills and succession cases, Income tax appeals, Sales tax Appeals etc.

Civil Procedure includes many subtopics like jurisdiction &venue (describe particular country or geographical area in which a particular court with jurisdiction may hear and determine a case), pleadings & motions (formal documents includes plaintiff’s initial allegations and defendant’s responses over them) discovery (gather case based information by documents and deposition i.e. written or oral interview of a party or witness by a lawyer).

This research guide is prepared by the library staff aims to list useful sources of information on Civil Procedure and Alternative Dispute Resolution in India and selective overseas jurisdictions. This guide lists sources which are available in JGU Library and elsewhere, both in print and electronic forms and also includes important links to useful free & open access web resources.

Primary Sources (Statutes, Court Rules & Procedures) - Indian

1. Code of Civil Procedure 1908

Civil Procedure Code, 1908 is a procedural law which related to administration of Indian Civil Procedure. This act or statute consolidate by various acts of Central and State Legislatures and amend from time to time to enable prompt disposal of the cases and relief to the concerned parties. Links to the act have been provided with the sources that are subscribed by JGU library and the open access web resources, given below:

Supreme Court of India is the highest court of Indian Judicial System. It has powers to hear cases with the following jurisdictions:

Appellate Jurisdiction: any order or Judgment in a Civil case, Criminal case, tax case, Intellectual property case, Constitution case or any other case of any High Court of India or the National tribunals can be appealed before the Supreme Court of India.

Original Jurisdiction: all cases between the Government of India and the States of India

Advisory Jurisdiction: matters which may specifically be referred to Supreme Court of India by the President of India under Article 143 of the Constitution. The President of India may refer any question of law or public importance to Supreme Court for its advice. But the Supreme Court is not bound to give advice. In case, the advice or the opinion of the Court is sent to the President, he may or may not accept it and the advice of the Court is not binding on the President.

Links to the Supreme Court judgments have been provided with the sources that are subscribed by JGU library, given below:

Westlaw India Go to Cases > To browse judgments, select “Supreme Court Judgments” & “full-text judgments”. Now judgment can be browse yearly by party name which is arranged alphabetically. To search judgments, search by Party/ by citation.

SCC OnlineGo to IP Access > Find By Citation (on middle bottom) > Select Journal and Enter the citation in search pane. To browse judgments, search “Supreme Court of India” & Select only “Supreme Court” in left side tab. It’ll search all Supreme Court judgment and now you can sort judgment by party/ by decision date from result list.

Manupatra Go to IP Access-> Supreme Court ( here all supreme court judgments and order can be retrieved by selecting specified period or by legal search, given on middle top)

Indian High Courts are the principal civil courts of original jurisdiction in each state and union territory. Indian judicial system comprise 24 High Courts at state and union territory level of India among which Madras High Court, Bombay High Court, Calcutta High Court and Allahabad High Court are the oldest four Indian High Courts. To access official website of Indian high courts with their orders, judgments, causelist and other links click here Links to the High Court judgments have been provided with the sources that are subscribed by JGU library, given below:

Westlaw India Go to Cases > To browse High Court judgments, select High Court & “full-text judgments”. Now judgment can be browse yearly, by party name which is arranged alphabetically. To search judgments, search by Party/ by citation.

SCC Online Go to IP Access > Find by Citation (on middle bottom) > Select Journal and Enter the citation in search pane. To browse judgments, search “High courts” & Select required “High Court” in left side tab. It’ll search all judgment and now you can sort judgment by party/ by decision date from result list.

Manupatra Go to IP Access-> High Courts and other courts ( here all high courts judgments can be retrieved by selecting specified period or by legal search, given on middle top)

District Courts are under administrative control of the High Court of the State to which the district concerned belongs. District court exercises jurisdiction both on original side and appellate side in civil and criminal matters arising in the District. The territorial and pecuniary jurisdiction in civil matters is usually set in concerned state enactments on the subject of civil courts. On the criminal side, jurisdiction is exclusively derived from the criminal procedure code. Official website of Indian district courts with their orders, judgments, causelist and other links, can be access as follow:

Tribunals and Commissions are courts, judicial body or board which has quasi-judicial functions, such as a public utilities board which sets rates or a planning commission which can allow variances from zoning regulations. To access official website of Indian Tribunals & Commissions and and also their judgments with coverage in subscribed legal databases by JGU Library can be accessed by the Indian trinunals and commission tab.

Links to the Tribunals & Commissions judgments have been provided with the sources that are subscribed by JGU library, given below:

Westlaw India Go to Cases and then tribunals, to browse judgments> select Tribunal & “full-text judgments”. Now judgment can be browse yearly, then by party name which is arranged alphabetically. To search judgments, search by Party/ by citation.

SCC Online Go to IP Access > Find by Citation (on middle bottom) > Select Journal and Enter the citation in search pane. To browse judgments, search “Tribunal” & Select required “Tribunal or commission” in left side tab. It’ll search all judgment and now you can sort judgment by party/ by decision date from result list.

Manupatra Go to IP Access-> Tribunals & Commissions ( here all Tribunals & Commissions judgments can be retrieved by selecting specified period or by legal search, given on middle top)

Indian Tribunals and Commissions

Tribunals and Commissions are courts, judicial body or board which has quasi-judicial functions, such as a public utilities board which sets rates or a planning commission which can allow variances from zoning regulations. Official website of Indian Tribunals & Commissions and their coverage in subscribed legal databases by JGU Library, are tabulated below:

Links to the Tribunals & Commissions judgments have been provided with the sources that are subscribed by JGU library, given below:

Westlaw India Go to Cases and then tribunals, to browse judgments> select Tribunal & “full-text judgments”. Now judgment can be browse yearly, then by party name which is arranged alphabetically. To search judgments, search by Party/ by citation.

SCC Online Go to IP Access > Find by Citation (on middle bottom) > Select Journal and Enter the citation in search pane. To browse judgments, search “Tribunal” & Select required “Tribunal or commission” in left side tab. It’ll search all judgment and now you can sort judgment by party/ by decision date from result list.

Manupatra Go to IP Access-> Tribunals & Commissions ( here all Tribunals & Commissions judgments can be retrieved by selecting specified period or by legal search, given on middle top)

Civil procedure in the United States consists of the rules of civil procedure that govern procedure in the federal courts, the 50 state court systems, and in the territorial courts where each state is free to operate its own system of civil procedure independent of her sister states and the federal court system.United States judicial system is stratified into federal courts & state supreme courts which acted simultaneously and are closely linked.

Federal Court form the judicial branch of the Federal government of the United States and operate under the authority of the United States Constitution and federal law. Federal courts involving litigants from two or more states, violations of federal laws, treaties, and the Constitution, admiralty, bankruptcy, and related issues.

State Supreme Courts every state has adopted a division of its judiciary into at least two levels, and almost every state has three levels, with trial courts hearing cases which may be reviewed by appellate courts, and finally by a state supreme court.A few states have two separate supreme courts, with one having authority over civil matters and the other reviewing criminal cases.

United Kingdom – CPR, 1999

Civil Procedure Rules (CPR) used by the Court of Appeal, High Court of Justice, and County Courts in civil cases in England and Wales. To find United Kingdom courts structure, click hereCivil justice in England and Wales, mainly dealt within the County Courts and in more substantial and complex cases, dealt within the High Court. Civil matters are heard at first instance (i.e. not appeals) in the County Court. The County Court hears all Small Claim and Fast Track cases. County Courts designated as 'civil trial centres' may also deal with claims allocated to the Multi Track.

JGU Library is subscribing a number of legal databases which comprising cases & judgments of overseas countries like United States, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Korea, United Kingdom, Asian & European Union and many more. Subscribed Legal Databases list are as given below:

Reference works, secondary and tertiary sources are the starting point to begin your research. Some major reference works on Civil Procedure and Arbitration Dispute Resolution are listed below. Links to the JGU library catalogue have been provided with the sources that are available in the library.

Rao, Kesava. Sir John Woodroffe and Syed Amir Ali’s Law of Evidence.Nagpur: LexisNexis, 2008 this four-volume set is the acclaimed all-time classic section-wise commentary on the Indian Evidence Act 1872. Some topics covers here are System of Judicial Enquiry: Traditions and Features, Principles of the Law of Evidence and Indian Evidence Act: An Overview. A comparative study has been made of the British and American law of evidence in the light of the Indian Evidence Act 1872 etc. The text includes central and state amendments and, wherever necessary, Broom's Legal Maxims, Black's Law Dictionary and Corpus Juris Secandum have been drawn on to elucidate principles of law.

Lewis, Thomas T. and Richard L Wilson. Encyclopedia of the US supreme court. Pasadena: Salem Press, 2001 this three-volume set consists 1,075 topical essays that devoted to important Supreme Court decisions; historical overviews of how the Court has treated important issues such as civil rights, freedom of speech, and voting rights; areas of law (e.g., administrative, environmental, immigration); specific historical events and eras, including the Civil War, cold war, and World War II; court administration and structure; legal terms (e.g., Advisory opinions, Standing); judicial interpretation of state and federal laws; and biographies of Supreme Court justices, failed nominees, and other persons integral to the Court's operation.

Best, Arthur. Wigmore on Evidence. Austin: Wolter Kluwer, 1983 Wigmore's 14 volumes set treatise, continues to influence the law of evidence. From doctrinal considerations such as the nature of inference and the exclusionary rules to case analysis involving such up-to-the-minute controversies as DNA "fingerprinting" and patient-psychotherapist privilege, this annually supplemented masterwork continues to A authoritative guidance again and again.

Berg, Albert Jan Van Den. Yearbook Commercial Arbitration. Wolter Kluwer, 2008 is a major source of information and commentary on law and practice in the field. The Yearbook's broad coverage includes: Arbitral awards, both institutional and ad hoc, with a separate accompanying section index; Selected court decisions on arbitration from all around the world during the previous year; Court decisions applying the UNCITRAL Model Law as reported in Case Law on UNCITRAL Texts (CLOUT), which suggest UNCITRAL's growing significance as a source of instruments and texts; New and amended arbitration rules of the primary institutions, both international and national; Awards and decisions of the Iran-U.S. Claims Tribunal, ICC, ICSID, and other bodies; Recent developments in arbitration law and practice; and Decisions applying the major multilateral arbitration conventions (New York 1958, Europe 1961, Washington 1965, Panama 1975), with commentary.

Wright & Miller. Federal Practice & Procedure (FPP)- this multi-volume treatise is published by West, a Thomson Reuters business. The database is updated annually by printed supplements and by a monthly cumulative supplemental service pamphlet. The Supplemental Service is prepared monthly by the publisher to timely alert subscribers to new case law, legislation, Rule amendments, journal articles and other substantive developments affecting the subject matter of Federal Practice & Procedure.

Nichol's Cyclopedia of Federal Procedure Forms (NCFPF) – is a seven-volume set which provides to the practitioner a comprehensive array of federal pleading and practice forms, accompanied by a concise treatment of the latest relevant federal law.

Witkin's California Treatises (WITKIN) – Witkin treatises are a comprehensive research resource for California law. The entire Witkin treatise collection consists of several multi-volume sets (electronic). Each treatise is organized like an encyclopedia, and features multi-paragraph explanations of legal principles grouped by subject.

Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, Rules and Commentary (FRCP-RC) – is a 2 volume set database, includes the complete, up-to-date text of all Federal Rules of Civil Procedure and, for each rule, a detailed practice commentary that discusses what the rule does, how it has been applied, and how it relates to other rules or other procedural matters.

Federal Procedure (FEDPROC) – Federal Procedure, Lawyers Edition, is a 59-volume set database containing 80 chapters. It provides an encyclopedia text treatment of all aspects of federal procedure - civil, criminal, and administrative. Federal Procedure covers procedure for the Federal District Courts, Courts of Appeals, and the Supreme Court, as well as comprehensive coverage of procedure for specialized courts and administrative agencies.

Cardiff Index to Legal Abbreviations allows you to search for the meaning of abbreviations for English language legal publications, from the British Isles, the Commonwealth including Australia, and the United States, including those covering international and comparative law. A wide selection of major foreign language law publications is also included. The database is developed by Cardiff University.

Blue Book Online,19th edition is subscribed by JGU Library. This is a guide for legal citation in the United States which provides a systematic method by which legal professionals communicate important information about the sources and authorities upon which they rely in their work.

Blogs

Blogs can be very useful sources of information on civil procedure as they offer analysis of current developments; discussion of problems and issues arising under court rules, as well as discussion of recently filed or decided cases.

Civil Procedure & Federal Courts providing information, news and analysis for law professors, practitioners and the general public about the law of civil procedure in the US.

Civil Procedure Blog provide the most up to date information on Federal Rules of Civil Procedure with the cases to each rule. The Federal Rules of Civil Procedure (FRCP) govern civil procedure (i.e. for civil lawsuits) in United States district federal courts.

ABA Journal compiled a list on Civil Procedures Blogs. To see this list, click here

Apps

There are several free and for purchase apps, available for Android devices that can assist with Civil Procedure information updates. Android Apps for Civil Procedure can be found in the following general sources: